With his teammates on the court, Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin worked out Friday in a small gym adjacent to the Nuggets’ Pepsi Center practice court.

He did minimal work on the court, and that will be the plan throughout the playoffs as the training staff works to preserve his troublesome left knee for as long as possible.

“You’ve got to pick one,” Martin said. “Do you want me to practice, or do you want me to play? But I got up and down the court just a little bit, just to get ready to play.”

Added acting coach Adrian Dantley, “We’re not going to have him practicing that much on the court, where it can put wear and tear on his knee.”

Martin returned to game action recently after missing 18 consecutive games with left patella tendinitis. In the three games since his return, Martin has averaged 6.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in 22.3 minutes. Expect his minutes to increase in the playoffs.

According to Martin, coming back early to get in game condition was a big key, particularly in the altitude. He said he’s still working on it.

“It isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” Martin said. “I got a couple of games in, especially at home. I think that was the most important thing, to get the altitude in my lungs a little bit.”

Getting Chauncey on track.

One of the big late-season story lines was a major dip in guard Chauncey Billups’ shooting. The veteran has hit just 38 percent of his shots in April, 31 percent from 3-point range. Both are well off his season averages of 42 percent and 39 percent from behind the arc. Dantley said he’s not worried.

“I can’t tell you how to get a guy’s shooting percentage better,” he said. “All I know is when I played I tried to get some layups, get some free throws. That would get your game going. He’s a veteran; he knows what to do.”

Graham available.

Forward Joey Graham (sprained left ankle) missed the last three games but says he’ll play despite his “questionable” status on the injury report.

New Nuggets Coby Karl and Brian Butch are on the playoff roster. . . . Dantley said the first two practices of the week were good ones. “We had two good workouts,” he said. “I think the guys are ready to go.”

UTAH AT DENVER

8:30 p.m. tonight, ALT, ESPN, KCKK 1510 AM

Spotlight on Carlos Boozer: If Carlos Boozer is unable to play his normal brand of basketball because of a right oblique strain, the Jazz has no shot. None. Boozer sat out his team’s final game of the season with the injury and they were blown out at home by Phoenix. Without Boozer, the Jazz pick-and-roll suffers. With a hobbled Boozer, that effectiveness takes a huge hit.

3-pointers

Can Denver lock in for 48 minutes? The Nuggets haven’t had a problem staying focused in certain stretches. The issue has been doing that for an entire game. Utah’s persistence in running the pick-and-roll presents problems if the Nuggets aren’t tough-minded enough to properly defend it for an entire game — and an entire series. Offensively, the Nuggets have the same problem. Their commitment to doing any one thing wavers from game to game, quarter to quarter, sometimes possession to possession.

Will Kenyon Martin’s knee allow him to play without worry? With the help of platelet-rich plasma therapy, Martin came back to the team last week after missing 18 games with left patella tendinitis. But the knee isn’t 100 percent, and in fact continues to break down the more he plays. His presence on the court is key to the Nuggets’ chances.

Can Chauncey Billups find a consistent shooting stroke? April has not been kind to Big Shot’s jump shot. The Nuggets point guard is shooting just 38 percent this month, and that has to change if the Nuggets are to survive and advance. He shot 43 percent against Utah this season, and most important, 43 percent from 3-point range.

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